In honor of Black History Month, NHPR and ClassicalNH will air several special programs in February.
You can find the full schedule below, which includes the music of the Civil Rights Era, and the launch of a new 13-week program on ClassicalNH that uses the 13th Amendment and classical music as the guide for an historical and contemporary conversation on race.
Black History Month specials will air Saturdays at 7:00 a.m. during the month of February
Feb 3, 2024
Sound Opinions Presents: Music of the Civil Rights Movement
Sound Opinions explores the music of the Civil Rights Era. From Bob Dylan to Odetta to the Staples Singers, hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot remark upon the impact music made on the fight for civil rights in the 1960s.
Feb 10, 2024
Langston Hughes - I Too Sing America
Langston Hughes, an enduring icon of the Harlem Renaissance, is best-known for his written work, which wedded his fierce dedication to social justice with his belief in the transformative power of the word. But he was a music lover, too, and some of the works he was most proud of were collaborations with composers and musicians.
Feb 17, 2024
Ida B. Wells' Battle to Uncover the Truth
Born to enslaved parents on a Mississippi plantation during the Civil War, Ida B. Wells emerged as a powerful investigative journalist. She overcame death threats and published widely in her quest to document the domestic terrorism against African Americans that came to be known as lynching. Ida Wells published the first major study of that crime. A close associate of Frederick Douglass, she helped to found the NAACP and advocated the right to vote for women and black Americans. Her amazing life story is finally gaining recognition, nearly 90 years after her death.
Feb 24, 2024
Say it Loud: Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African American Identity
"Say It Loud" traces the last 50 years of black history through stirring, historically important speeches by African Americans from across the political spectrum. With recordings unearthed from libraries and sound archives, and made widely available here for the first time, "Say It Loud" includes landmark speeches by Malcolm X, Lorraine Hansberry, Angela Davis, Martin Luther King Jr., Henry Louis Gates, and many others.
Black History Month 2024 programming specials on ClassicalNH:
Feb 8, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.
A Beautiful Symphony of Brotherhood: A Musical Journey in the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Host Terrance McKnight interweaves musical examples with Dr. King's own speeches and sermons to illustrate the powerful place that music held in his work--and examines how the musical community responded to and participated in Dr. King's cause.
Feb 9, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.
The Choral Hour
Join host Kathlene Ritch as she celebrates Black History Month! Featuring music of African American composers William Dawson and Moses Hogan. Kathlene chats with composer and conductor Dr. Andre Thomas, as they discuss how concert spirituals and their performance practice have evolved over the 20th century through the present day.
Feb 12 to Feb 28, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.
Sound of 13
Celebrating Black Achievement in Classical Music: The Sound of 13 is a classical music program that addresses the racial injustice in our society through the lens of classical music. Host Garrett McQueen opens a historical and contemporary conversation of race with classical music and the 13th Amendment as the guide.
Feb 28, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.
Take Me to the Water
A one-hour special, hosted by Vernon Neal, focusing on harpist Ashley Jackson’s program Take Me to the Water recorded at American Public Media's studios. Take Me to the Water, is an immersive audio experience that touches on themes from African mythology, the antebellum spiritual tradition and water’s transportive, transmogrifying nature.
